We are nearing our eternal release from the bondage of sin, and, just as God permitted the Israelites to take the wealth of the Egyptians in order that they might have the necessary means to build the sanctuary and carry forward the Lord’s work, so God would be pleased for us to gather means from the world around us to carry forward the closing work of this great message.
The “God of Israel” is not dead, and he who anciently “gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required,” will go before his people during our Thanksgiving campaign, and will give them such things as they require to carry forward this glorious work.
All the silver and the gold belong to the Lord, and he can impress those not of our faith to give of their money to support his work in the earth, just as easily as he can impress our hearts to go forth and ask for money.
Let none feel timid about asking strangers to give for the support of our foreign missionary work. The Lord has promised that “strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,” and “the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls.” Why not give them an opportunity to fulfil this prophecy next month by going to these strangers with the special number of the REVIEW AND HERALD, showing them that the Lord has a mighty work going forward in the earth, and that he needs their money to accomplish it?
It was the wealth of the heathen, united with the faithful work of God’s people, that anciently enabled Nehemiah to complete the building of the wall in fifty-two days. Nehemiah depended upon this help from strangers, or he would never have made the following request before he started in his work:—
If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city.
Nehemiah did not hesitate to ask a heathen king not only to aid the Lord’s work himself, but also to have the governors assist in the work.7
For years we have read Isa. 60: 1-5, and have expected the time would come when “the wealth of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” Why not see the beginning of the fulfilment of this prophecy in a marked manner next month by going to the strangers with the special REVIEW AND HERALD, giving them a chance to “minister unto thee”?
This is a new departure in our work, an advance move, an evidence that we are nearing the completion of the work. Let us go forward, brethren, press the battle to the gates, and share in the final triumph of the third angel’s message.
S. N. HASKELL.
Note and Comment
_The Result of Evolution_
While some are deluding themselves with the false hope that the world is growing better, there are others whose eyes have been opened to see more clearly the exact state of affairs. An editorial writer in the Watchman (Boston) makes this statement:—
Any one who has carefully watched the trend of social life for the last forty years will be compelled to admit that the standard of morals in society has been constantly falling.
When seeking for an explanation of this change, the writer charges the responsibility upon the doctrine of evolution. In support of his view, he says:—
As the fundamental principles of evolution have permeated through all classes of society, men and women have been glad to accept the idea that they are the products of antecedent causes, and are therefore not morally responsible for themselves or their deeds or their future. If they have occasionally a little solicitude about the latter, they take refuge in an indefinite idea of “the larger hope” that “somehow good will be the final goal of ill.” Themselves and their actions being, therefore, determined by the evolutionary action of forces with which they have nothing to do, and their future being wrapped in a shining mist, they give themselves up to pleasure as the chief good. They dismiss the sense of responsibility, throwing it upon the forces which evolved them, and leave their future to be determined by the same forces which produced them.
The doctrine of evolution is more than a mere theory. It is a mighty factor in determining the beliefs and the conduct of man. One who accepts this teaching must inevitably abandon belief in a personal God as the creator and upholder of all things, to whom he is responsible, and by whom he will be judged, and must just as surely lose the sense of personal responsibility for his course of action, and must regard himself as borne along by the great Tendency, without the power to shape his own destiny or to prevent results which must be the outcome of unchanging laws. Evolution is utterly irreconcilable with the teachings of the Scriptures concerning man’s origin and destiny; and one who believes in evolution will be compelled to discredit the gospel of Christ.
Unprofitable Self-Examination
THERE is a proper way in which one may examine himself to see whether he be in the faith, but there is also an unhealthy self-examination which leads to doubt and discouragement. This has been well stated in the following quotation:—
Many earnest souls suffer and brood over their obvious failure to attain to the high standard of character that they long for, and in that very suffering and brooding they defeat God’s plan for their spiritual development. No one ever helped others by thinking chiefly about himself. Many a one makes the mistake of centering his attention so persistently on himself and his failure to be what he thinks he ought to be, that he is incapacitated for serving his fellows as God wants him to do. We can never be what we want to be, nor what God would have us be, until we stop thinking about what we are, and, having committed ourselves to the Saviour, in his strength do his will by bringing love and cheer and the gospel daily to those near us.
There is a truth here stated which ought not to be overlooked. It is by beholding that we become changed into the same image. One who beholds himself instead of “looking unto Jesus” is not likely to rise above his own failures. One who fully realizes his own imperfections and desires to attain to something better, should follow the example of the apostle Paul: “Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This is the true philosophy of Christian attainment.
Moving Romeward
The Lamp, a paper published in London, and speaking as the mouthpiece of the Church of England, has this to say with reference to the Romeward movement in that church:—
Nothing can stop the return of “the other sheep” to the fold of Peter; it is the will of an omnipotent God declared by Jesus Christ; but there are too many millions of them to return as individuals; their return must be a corporate one, and that return is bound to be largely, if not mainly, through the Anglican Church; therefore the Romeward movement in the Anglican body must go on, and nothing earthborn or hellborn can stop it.
The Northwestern Christian Advocate makes the following comment on this astonishing declaration:—
These are strange words for a Protestant paper to utter. Yet perhaps they are not so strange, after all; for the Lamp is evidently a Roman Catholic and not a Protestant paper, and is sailing under a false flag in order that it may enjoy the benefits of support from the public treasury which a state church enjoys. No stronger argument for disestablishment and disendowment than is presented by the Lamp could be afforded. The Anglican priests and lay communicants which it represents have ceased for conscientious reasons to be Protestants, yet against their conscientious convictions they profess still to be Protestants in order to receive support as a part of the state church, which is Protestant and must be, under the British law.
As the Anglican Church has never been Protestant in nature, and does not so designate itself in its liturgy, it should not surprise us to see it sweeping steadily and with increasing rapidity back into the fold of the Roman Church, and, by its influence, swinging into the same course other organizations built upon the same principle—a union of church and state.
Lost! the Advent Message
THE strong current which is now setting in in favor of the federation of all the Protestant churches is sweeping along with it some who have in years past claimed to have a specific message for the world, which would make it necessary for them to remain distinct from other denominations. An example of this has come to our attention. At a recent meeting of the ministers' association in a New England city, where the topic under consideration was “The Unification of Protestantism in New England,” a prominent representative of the First-day Adventist body is reported as having made the following statement:—
What reason is there for our being here as a denomination?—None, absolutely none. The things that separated us have passed away, and we could unite now with any evangelical body. Our denomination was started by a Baptist fanatic, who said the world was coming to an end in 1843 or 44, and about fifty thousand people withdrew themselves from the Baptists, Methodists, and Congregational churches, and formed another denomination; none of us now believe what Miller believed, and there is no longer need for separation. To my mind, the great hindrance to unification of Protestant bodies is the dogma of traditional infallibility [the infallibility of the Scriptures (?)] and denominational bigotry.
If this minister properly represents the denomination with which he is connected, we may expect that it will soon be merged into the older and larger religious bodies from which there was a coming out in the summer of 1844. At that time there was a living faith in the near advent of Christ, which seems to have almost died out among some of the successors of the original Adventists.
The Joy of Service
By L. D. Santee
L. D. SANTEE
There are hearts in their hunger pathetic,
That moan in their hunger and pain;
There are souls in their sadness ascetic,
O’erburdened in heart and in brain;
From lands where the tropic heat rages,
To mountains of ice with their glare,
’Mong the high and the low of all ages,
There are lives that go out in despair.
What joy if some heart that is bleeding
Is tenderly bound by your hand!
What joy of all joys to be leading
Some soul to the beautiful land!
To comfort the lives that are grieving,
To pray for the tempted that fall,
To teach them the joy in believing
In Jesus, the Saviour of all!
My heart with its pity is swelling
For those who “pass under the rod;”
I grow tenderly sober in telling
Of the love and the pity of God:
To the lives that are loveless and dreary,
That lonely and desolate stand,
He offers them, wayworn and weary,
A home in the beautiful land.
The burdens of sorrow are lightened
As we tell of the mansions above;
And faces all tear-washed are brightened
As they hear the sweet story of love;
In darkness they blindly were groping,
But tears from their eyes cease to fall;
They look to the skies and are hoping
In Jesus, the Saviour of all.
My experience an angel might covet,
Such joy does His service afford;
No sadness, for joy is above it,—
’Tis the wonderful “joy of my Lord.”
I look with a faith sweet and tender
Across the broad reach of the years,
I shall see the blest city of splendor
When Jesus the Saviour appears.
Chicago, Ill.
The Danger of Fostering Pride and Vanity
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
THERE are many professed Christians who know not Christ by an experimental knowledge. They are not converted; for self is the all-absorbing theme of their life. They do not sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, and learn of him. They are not ready for Christ’s coming. They are Christians only in name.
O, how my heart aches for these poor deceived, unprepared souls! As I stand before congregations, and see the self-sufficient, self-righteous ones, and know that they are not preparing themselves to do acceptable work for Christ, and to meet him in peace, my heart is burdened for them. What can I say to them that will arouse them to a sense of their true condition? I long to reveal Christ so plainly that they will behold him, and cease to center their attention on self.
In the night season I was in a company of people whose hearts were filled with vanity and conceit, and Christ was hid from their eyes. Suddenly, in loud, clear accents, the words were heard, “Jesus is coming to take to himself those who on this earth have loved and served him, to be with him in his kingdom forever.” Many of those in the company went forth in their costly apparel to meet him. They kept looking at their dress. But when they saw his glory, and realized that their estimation of one another had been so largely measured by outward appearance, they knew that they were without the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and that the blood of souls was on their garments.
When Christ took his chosen ones, they were left; for they were not ready. In their lives, self had been given the first place; and when the Saviour came, they were not prepared to meet him.
I awoke with the picture of their agonized countenances stamped on my mind. I can not efface the impression. I wish I could describe the scene as it was presented to me. O, how sad was the disappointment of those who had not learned by experience the meaning of the words, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”!
The treasure of the grace of Christ is of more value than gold or silver or costly array. When my sisters catch a glimpse of what Christ has suffered in their behalf, that they might become children of God by adoption, they will no longer be satisfied with worldly pride and self-love. No longer will they worship self, but God will be the object of their supreme regard.
My heart aches as I am shown how many there are who make self their idol. Christ has paid the redemption price for them. To him belongs the service of all their powers. But their hearts are filled with self-love, and with the desire for self-adorning. They give no thought to the words, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Self-gratification is hiding God from their view. They have no desire to walk before God in meekness and lowliness. They are not looking to Jesus, not praying that they may be changed into his likeness. Their cases are represented by the man who came to the king’s banquet clothed in his common citizen-dress. He had refused to make the preparation required by the king. The garment provided for him at great cost he disdained to wear. To the king’s demand, “How camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?” he could answer nothing. He was speechless; for he was self-condemned.
Among those to whom bitter disappointment will come at the day of final reckoning will be some who have been outwardly religious, who apparently have lived Christian lives, but whose lives have been marked by selfishness. They pride themselves on their morality, their influence, their ability to stand in a higher position than others, their knowledge of the truth; and they think that these will win for them the commendation of Christ. “Lord,” they plead, “we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” “Have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works?”
But Christ says, “I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me.” “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
There is no discussion; the time for that is past. The irrevocable sentence is pronounced. They are shut out from heaven by their own unfitness for its companionship.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
We know not what is before us, and our only safety is in walking with Christ, our hand in his, our hearts filled with perfect trust. Has he not said, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me”? Let us keep close to the Saviour. Let us walk humbly with him, filled with his meekness. Let self be hid with him in God.
The Final Warning Message to Mankind
By GEORGE I. BUTLER
GEORGE I. BUTLER
The certainty that there must be a warning message given before the coming of Christ and the close of probation, has been considered. It is a leading principle in God’s scheme of salvation that mankind should be warned of the consequences of sin, especially in every great crisis of human destiny.
Attention is now called to this last-day message, the most solemn and important ever given to mankind: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that9great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 6-12.
This is the divine and closing message in the probation of the human family. The proof of this lies in the nature of the message itself, for in its first division it brings to view the beginning of the last great judgment period, the decision of the destiny of every member of the human family just before Christ’s second coming. This grand assize takes place in heaven itself, and closes just previously to Christ’s coming to the earth to execute the judgment, to save his people, and to slay the wicked who will not heed the warning message. The last division of this message presents the closing events of human probation, the infliction of God’s wrath in the destruction of all the wicked living in the last generation. These events could be fulfilled only in the terrors of the last day.
Further proof that this scripture is the last warning message to mankind lies in the immediate connection following: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice, . . . Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14: 13-16.
There can be no doubt that this scripture brings to view the second coming of Christ. When he was about to leave the world, he said to his disciples, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 3.
What is the harvest of the earth? In the parable of the tares and the wheat (Matthew 13) our Saviour says: “The harvest is the end of the world.” The wheat and the tares were “to grow together until the harvest.” He says the wheat represents the righteous and the tares the children of the wicked one. Christ comes to take his children to heaven, to the mansions he has prepared for them, while he burns up the tares (the wicked) with unquenchable fire. There can be no doubt that Rev. 14: 14-16 gives a vivid description of this final scene, when probation has closed, and the righteous and the wicked are forever separated, each to receive his reward. This final scene, then, comes at the close of this threefold message of warning.
In the scriptures quoted in this article, the last warning message is portrayed in three great divisions, covering the special conditions existing in the very close of probationary time. Such a solemn message of warning must be given to the world to ripen the harvest of the earth, to prepare a people for the coming of Christ, and to leave the impenitent millions of the last days without excuse. They will have been warned, as were the antediluvians by Noah, and the unbelieving Jews by John the Baptist.
In neither of these cases would the masses receive the message; and they will not receive it now. But some did receive it, and were saved by it, so also it will be in the final message for the last days.
Has such a message been in progress in the world in our times? We answer, Most assuredly, yes. A message of world-wide extent has been given, and is still being proclaimed, that Christ is soon coming, and the end of the world is very near. This message began to be sounded nearly three fourths of a century ago, in various parts of the world, and has been growing in volume ever since. This is a historical fact, which can easily be proved. It was proclaimed in Great Britain by hundreds of able men. In the United States of America three hundred ministers proclaimed it in 1844 and previously to that date, also in many other countries. At the present time, Seventh-day Adventists, a hundred thousand strong, are proclaiming it in nearly all parts of the earth.
Another point that is worthy of careful notice is the fact that in the proclamation of this doctrine the great majority of those believing in the soon coming of Christ have always believed and taught that they were fulfilling this prophecy in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. The servant of God, in prophetic vision looking down the stream of time, saw this threefold message. He announced it in the book containing what he saw. Eighteen centuries passed by. No such message had ever been given. No people arose claiming to give it. It remained there in John’s Revelation as a great mystery. By and by the signs of Christ’s coming, as recorded in Matthew 24 and corresponding scriptures, began to be fulfilled. Then tens of thousands of people arose in various parts of the world, and began to proclaim these messages. This fact is, in itself, a mighty evidence that we are in the last days.
This article is but a brief introduction, a mere summary, of the truths contained in these messages. Subsequent articles will give many more facts. That the time has come for fully proclaiming this great world-wide message is in itself a fact of the greatest possible importance to the inhabitants of this earth.
Bowling Green, Fla.
The Best Way
By C. H. REIMERS
C. H. REIMERS
God’s way is always the best way; and the secret of salvation, success, and prosperity lies in adopting God’s ways in place of our own.
Just as money is necessary to carry on any commercial business, so money is needed to carry on our Father’s business. Now there is most urgent need for a very large sum of money, not to pay old debts, but to enlarge our Father’s business. Let us all give willingly and cheerfully for this purpose until the work is completed. There are many promises in the Word to the cheerful giver.
In Rom. 15:4 we are told that what was written aforetime was for our learning. In the Old Testament God gives us a system for raising money to carry on the work, which is beautiful in its simplicity and equality. This is the tithing system. In studying this question I find that the first tithe, or tenth part, of our increase should be given for the support of the Levites, or ministry. Num. 18:21. This tithe is not to be used for any other purpose. If used, it must be returned with one fifth, or twenty per cent, added thereto. Lev. 27:30-33. Many tithe only money received, but everything that is received should be tithed.
There is more to the tithing system, however, than simply the paying of one tithe. We are to pay a second tithe, or tenth part, which is to be used to maintain annual feasts, such as our camp-meetings, and to defray the expenses of carrying forward the work, outside of the support of the ministry. Deut. 12:17-19; 14:22, 23. In ancient Israel, every third year this second tithe was to be devoted to the poor, to orphans, and to widows. Deut. 14:28, 29. This is equivalent to giving one third of the second tithe each year to that purpose. This is God’s systematic plan for carrying forward the work and caring for the poor and needy.
There is no doubt that Paul taught the people to pay tithes. He taught them all the counsel of God. Acts 20:27. In 1 Cor. 9:13, 14, we see he taught the people to pay the first tithe for the support of the ministry. Notice the “even so” in verse 14. But in 1 Cor. 16:1, 2, Paul teaches that they should figure up, on the first day of each week, to see how God had prospered them, and then to lay by accordingly, not as they purposed in their hearts, but a certain portion—as God had prospered them. They would then have money on hand when a call came.
If we would adopt this plan of figuring10up on the first day of each week, to see how God has prospered us, and then lay by a second tithe, or tenth part of that which is left after we have paid a first tithe for the support of the ministry, we should have money ready to give when a call like the one hundred fifty thousand dollar fund comes; and if every Seventh-day Adventist would pay a second tithe regularly, it would not be necessary to call for money to carry on the work, as there would be a constant stream flowing into the treasury. Then our Sabbath services could be enjoyed without taking collections, a custom that is seriously questioned by many. Also the urgent calls for money at our camp-meetings would not be necessary, but the time could all be spent in praise and in learning how we can better serve God.
The Bible plainly teaches that we should pay a first and a second tithe of all our increase. God’s ancient people practised this system of tithing; and their example is an object-lesson to us, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Josephus says: “He appointed that the people should pay the tithe of their annual fruits of the earth, both to the Levite and to the priests.” “Let there be taken out of your fruits a tenth, besides that which you have allotted to give to the priests and the Levites. This you may indeed sell in the country, but it is to be used in those feasts and sacrifices that are to be celebrated in the holy city.”—Josephus, “Antiquities,” book 4, chap. 4, sec. 3; chap. 8, sec. 8.
There is a blessing for all who obey God’s requirements; and I fear many of our people are being cheated out of the blessing that would result from paying the second tithe. I wish each member of our denomination could read “Gospel Workers,” page 269; “Patriarchs and Prophets,” pages 530, 533; and “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. III, pages 388-413.
For the benefit of those who have not access to the above-mentioned books, I will give a few extracts concerning God’s tithing system, including the second tithe:—
“To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was required. . . . The tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established. . . . Thus provision was made for the thank-offerings and feasts at the yearly festivals, and the people were drawn to the society of the priests and Levites, that they might receive instruction and encouragement in the service of God.”—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 530.
In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. III, pages 388-413, we find the following statements: “He [God] has given his people a plan for raising sums sufficient to make the enterprise [carrying the truth] self-sustaining. God’s plan in the tithing system [this certainly includes both first and second tithes] is beautiful in its simplicity and equality. All may take hold of it in faith and courage, for it is divine in its origin. . . . Great objects are accomplished by this system. If one and all would accept it, each would be made a vigilant and faithful treasurer for God; and there would be no want of means with which to carry forward the great work of sounding the last message of warning to the world. The treasury will be full if all adopt this system, and the contributors will not be left the poorer. Through every investment made, they will become more wedded to the cause of present truth. . . . The tithing system was no burden to those who did not depart from the plan. The system enjoined upon the Hebrews has not been repealed or relaxed by the One who originated it. Instead of being of no force now, it was to be more fully carried out and more extended, as salvation through Christ alone should be more fully brought to light in the Christian age. . . .”
“We are in a world of plenty. If gifts and offerings were in proportion to the means which each has received of God, there would be no need of urgent calls for means at our large gatherings. [This must mean the second tithe, and free-will offerings.] . . . The burden of urging and pressing individuals to give of their means, was not designed to be the work of God’s ministers. The responsibility should rest upon every individual who enjoys the belief of the truth.”
These lessons are of great importance just now. On page 529 in “Patriarchs and Prophets” we read: “The work of the gospel, as it widens, requires greater provision to sustain it than was called for anciently; and this makes the law of tithes and offerings of even more urgent necessity now than under the Hebrew economy.” If this law was one that demanded obedience, and if the demands of the present time are “more urgent” than at that time, it certainly makes our duty clear. By paying a second tithe all the members can share in the burdens equally.
“The light which the Lord has given me on this subject, is that the means in the treasury for the support of the ministry [first tithe] in the different fields, is not to be used for any other purpose. . . . They are withdrawing the tithe for other expenses—to keep up the meeting-house necessities, or some charity [the second tithe is for this purpose]. God is not glorified in any such work. . . . Let not the treasury be robbed.”—“Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers,” No. 16, pages 18, 19. By paying a second tithe the questions of general church expense, camp-meeting expense, mission offerings, church-school funds, and the care of the worthy poor, etc., are made clear and relieved of difficulty.
Soon all the means God has will be used in this message, or be swallowed up by the world. Faith in our Father’s providing care must be allowed to grow now, or it will be lacking when the final test is upon us.
In my mind, it is clear from the Bible, history, and the Testimonies that God desires us to pay a first and a second tithe,—one in support of the ministry, the other to carry on the work. This is the best way. God help us to walk in the light when we see duty clearly.
Meriden, Conn.
Doubling the Fund
By F. D. Starr
F. D. STARR
Now that the raising of the $150,000 fund is so nearly finished (after a two-years’ effort) that we can take a look over the summit of the height to see what greater heights there may be beyond, it may not be out of place for us also to take a view backward from our place of eminence to discover what lofty structures of like character lie behind us.
In the Sabbath-school lessons for the past quarter, was found a very practical lesson from the history of the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple, as recorded in Nehemiah 7. We learn from the last few verses of that chapter that the governor, the rulers, and the people together gave in gold and silver a sum of money which, reduced to our own currency, according to the value of the weights there given, amounts to about three hundred thousand dollars, a sum exactly double that which we have just been raising. This was given freely by a poor people, scarcely fifty thousand strong, not much over half of our numerical strength. Surely we do not wish to be outdone by our brethren in tribulation, the children of the captivity; and so if we are ever invited to see and do greater things in this line than we have yet done, let us heartily respond. The raising of funds for carrying on the work of God has always been an essential part of the gospel.
Forest, Idaho.
The Latest from Babylon
DR. F. DELITZSCH has just edited a report of the explorations carried out by an exploration society on the ruins of ancient Babylon. In this document it is shown that the result placed before us for the first time the real area of the city in the prosperous days of the New Babylonian empire, from B. C. 606-538. There are four great mounds within the group of ruins, one of these, Babil, being about one hundred feet high. Another contains the ruins of the great temple of Bel-Merodach, under which are immense remains not yet fully excavated. The third mound, fully explored, contains two immense palaces, one built by Nabopolassar, the other by Nebuchadnezzar. In the latter is the grand audience-hall where Nebuchadnezzar sat and received homage on his conquest of Jerusalem. What a wonderful discovery is this! It is conjectured that in this very hall Belshazzar's feast was held, and that on its plaster-covered walls the terrible message of doom was seen. Here Cyrus the Conqueror was undoubtedly enthroned in June, B. C. 538, and perhaps on this very spot Alexander the Great held the fatal revels after his overthrow of the empire of the East.—The Homiletic Review.
When the Birds Go North Again
“O, EVERY heart hath its sorrow,
And every heart hath its pain;
But a day is always coming
When the birds go North again.
'Tis the sweetest thing to remember,
If courage be on the wane,
When the cold, dark days are over,
Why, the birds go North again.”